


stop! in the name of love

by 99izm



Category: Produce 101 (TV), Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, An Almost Makeout, Dogs, Fluff, M/M, Papa! Minhyun, diet crack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-17 03:10:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13067880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/99izm/pseuds/99izm
Summary: So much forfriendship building exercises.





	stop! in the name of love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillamyuu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillamyuu/gifts).



> I hope that you enjoyed this as much as I had fun writing this!

_Patriotism, Justice, and Honour_.

Those were the three words that were instilled in his head ever since Jihoon enrolled at the Korean National Police University after graduating from high school.

If he were to be honest, he would have never expected himself to become a police officer. But whenever he thinks of an old lady across the road that needs help or of the past that had wrecked his very being—Jihoon is tired of feeling helpless, and he wants to be able to do _something_.

It’s the first day of work upon graduating from university. He hadn’t been able to sleep the night before, as the jitters about the first day of work ran high in his veins. He had made sure there were no creases on his white shirt and Jihoon can’t help but smile in the morning, when he looks at himself in the mirror.

“Mom,” Jihoon says, sitting down in front of the tiny table in his small apartment. There’s a single framed photograph sitting on the wooden table, and Jihoon closes his eyes to make a short prayer. “I’ll be going now.”

 

 

 

Jihoon wonders if he’s being overly enthusiastic, as he reaches the Gangnam District Office thirty minutes before he’s required to be there. His uniform feels a little stiff at the edges, but it still makes him smile to himself, at the very thought of being _able_ to wear the uniform. And he thinks of the road that lies ahead of him, and of how he will eventually grow into the creases of the navy blue.

He decides to take a slow walk around the neighbourhood, and he stops by a small cafe that sits across the office. Gangnam is expensive and overpriced, but he figures that it would do him well if there could be anything that could calm his nerves and take his mind away from the anxiety of meeting new people and starting a new job.

It’s been said that only the _best_ get assigned to the Gangnam District Office, for it’s found in such a central location in Seoul. It’s also where activity is hottest, and the authorities can only trust in the best to handle the flurry of operations they have to embark on.

A part of Jihoon wonders who the graduates that would join him in the Gangnam District Office could possibly be. There’s a single name that rings at the back of his head, but he shakes it away.

He can’t help but growl at the very thought that _he_ would be assigned to the same district office as him.

“Sir,” the barista standing in front of the cashier asks, “are you alright?”

“Ah,” Jihoon blinks. He hadn’t quite registered that it was already his turn to order, and a small flush finds its way onto his cheeks at the thought of how he had growled earlier, thinking that he was alone. “I’d have a tall iced americano, please.”

Jihoon isn’t quite sure if the barista had heard the growl, but she doesn’t mention it and simply smiles at him. “That would be 3000 won.”

He hands the notes over to the barista before shuffling to the side to wait for his drink.

A part of Jihoon thinks that it would be _him_ that would be assigned to the Gangnam District Office with him. Jihoon hates to admit it, but there’s only _him_ who was as good as Jihoon was, as proficient as he was, as determined and passionate as he was.

As he’s consumed in his thoughts, Jihoon forgets to add some sugar syrup into his coffee and he leaves the cafe. As he takes a sip of the coffee, it’s bitter against the tip of his tongue. It isn’t entirely unpleasant, but it’s also something that Jihoon has never quite gotten used to. It’s a jolt, to remind him of reality, and somehow, he’s pretty damn sure now. That it would be Park Woojin who joins him at the Gangnam District Office.

Goddamnit.

 

 

 

Even as he got his coffee, Jihoon’s still ten minutes early. But being ten minutes early doesn’t sound as bad as being thirty minutes early, so he steps into the office after finishing his drink. He gives a salute, making sure of the straightness in his back. and says, “Officer Park Jihoon! Reporting for duty!”

The staff in the office simply look up at him, blink once, and then go back to looking down, continuing with the work that they have.

Jihoon wonders if it was wrong for him to have done that.

It’s a friendly-looking officer who responds to him. There’s a gentle smile on his face, and Jihoon  thinks that he reminds him of the kind seniors that he had back in university, who would shower him with undivided warmth and assurance.

“Ah,” he begins. It’s just like his face, his voice is also calm and gentle. “I will be your supervisor for now. I’m Hwang Minhyun.”

Their hands meet in a formal handshake.

“Please follow me.”

 

 

When he enters the room after Minhyun, there is already another figure who’s sitting on the couch. Jihoon thinks that he would be able to recognise that silhouette anywhere, even though he doesn't want to admit it. He recognises the brooding figure of silent passion, and the dark hair that is always in a mess from hard work and practice.

“I didn’t think I’d see you here again,” Jihoon grits out as he settles into the seat next to him, “Park Woojin.”

Woojin turns over to look at Jihoon with widened eyes. But it fades as quickly as it comes, and Woojin rolls his eyes, “So you’ve been assigned here too, huh.”

Minhyun raises an eyebrow at the two of them, as he sits down on the couch across them, flipping through the binder. “So, the two of you are acquainted with each other?”

Jihoon wants to say no, but he swallows down the petty childishness. “Yes, we graduated in the same year.”

“That’s great,” Minhyun puts down the binder to his side, and there’s a smile that shows on his face. But it’s a smile that isn’t quite like the one from before, and it’s one of seriousness, and Jihoon can see the different layers in them. “That’ll save us the trouble from having to get you two acquainted.”

As you might have guessed, you will be partners for your term in the Gangnam District Officer. We look forward to having you on board.”

It makes Jihoon and Woojin share a glance of shock and confusion.

And Jihoon can’t help the words that’s been bubbling within him from escaping, “ _With him?!_ ”

Oh, it’s going to be a ride, indeed.

 

* * *

 

_Jihoon wonders if they are still living in the 21st century, from the way their evaluations are posted on a single notice board in the center of the school. There are two separate notices that are posted every semester: Practical and Theory. It’s a system that people have always been criticising, but they rank the students based on their performance, and by the time graduation rolls by, they get allocated to places based on their performance and also, their location._

_“I wonder who’s going to be the top this time,” Jihoon hears whispers around him as he walks down the corridor._

_There’s a sigh that follows after. “Don’t you ever get tired of them dominating? The rest of us don’t even stand a chance.”_

_Jihoon hates to admit it, but there’s a certain pride that he holds from being_ them _. It’s hard work to get to the top, but there’s a lot of effort that he puts to retain his reputation at the top. Especially when there’s someone else who’s running at the same pace as you are, and Jihoon can’t take the competitiveness out of himself, and he will do anything to take over him, to take over Park Woojin._

 _He takes a huge inhale, holding his breath as he prepares to take a look at the white sheet of paper. And it brings a smile to his face when he sees himself at the top of the list for_ Theory _, but it’s also quick to fall when he sees Park Woojin at the top for_ Practical.

_Woojin’s voice comes from behind him, and it’s just like what you see in dramas, students shuffling to the side so that the two of them can talk to each other, face to face. “Guess we’re even this time, huh.”_

_Jihoon rolls his eyes, crossing his arms. “Everyone knows that the Theory exams were harder this time.”_

_“Please,” Woojin growls. “If you were_ that _great, you would have dominated in both sectors. But you didn’t.”_

_Jihoon doesn’t want to admit it, but Woojin’s right. If he were really that great, he would have came in first for both. But Jihoon doesn’t want to back down, not from a verbal fight with his arch nemesis. “We all know who the Superior Park is, darling. Don’t get upset.”_

_He walks away before Woojin can retort, but as he walks away, he also doesn’t hear a single shout coming from the other boy and it makes him smile to himself._

Park Woojin: 0  — Park Jihoon: 1

 

* * *

 

It's hard to let the competitiveness escape from within him, and it's almost too easy for them to settle into the rhythm of being rivals again. They are partners, so it's hard for them to be rivals like how they were back in university, so they end being competitive in the most seemingly insignificant ways: of seeing who reaches work earlier, who finishes paperwork faster.

Jihoon can barely keep his eyes open as he sips on his cup of iced americano. Beside him, Woojin's also drinking a cup of tea to perk him up, to keep himself awake. The differences in the choice of drinks reminds Jihoon of how starkly different they are, and how it almost feels like they were meant to be rivals. There's still 15 more minutes before their shift officially starts, but they have been here earlier than that.

Jaehwan strolls into the office with a huge yawn, trying to blink the sleep out of his eyes. "What time did you two even reach? And I thought that I was early today.”

"8."

"8.30am."

Woojin glares at Jihoon, who only smirks in response.

“What the fuck,” Jaehwan deadpans. “Are you guys like… five or something?"

“No, I'm not," Woojin scowls, crossing his arms. Jihoon tries to stifle his laughter at the sight, at how Woojin can barely keep his eyes open but he's still trying to make a glare out of it. “I’m pretty sure he is though.”

Jaehwan rolls his eyes at the both of them, but he's settling into his own booth, where a mountain of paperwork waits for him. "I can't believe that we got such kids here. Don't you need to sleep?"

Jihoon does feel tired, the fatigue running in his veins from how competitive and petty they are over the smallest things. But he doesn't want to lose to anyone, especially not to Park Woojin, so he swallows the thoughts together with the bitter coffee.

When 9 am rings, Jaehwan reminds them, "Now, go on your rounds. Remember that you're supposed to be on the lookout for the citizens, and not yourselves!"

"We know what we have to do, hyung," Jihoon salutes with a bright smile before pocketing a walkie-talkie into one of his pant pocket. He knows that Woojin's already waiting by the entrance of the office for him, leaning against the glass.

"Hurry up, you slowass."

But Jihoon takes a glance to his waist, and he rolls his eyes while taking another walkie-talkie into his hands. "Coming from the guy who forgot the 101's of going on rounds? Funny."

Woojin reaches down to his belt immediately, patting around and a look of horror washes onto his face when he realises that there's an empty space at where his walkie-talkie should be sitting at.

"Yes, idiot," Jihoon scoffs at him, walking up and handing the walkie-talkie over. "You're welcome!"

Jaehwan just laughs in the background at Woojin's frown.

 

 

They take a slow drive around Gangnam, and it's Jihoon who sees the telltale signs of an incident that's happening when he takes a glance out of the window. He taps incessantly at Woojin's shoulder, who tries to take a glance at what Jihoon is trying to point out, despite having to keep a steady eye on the road.

"What's going on?" Woojin asks, trying to look over to Jihoon’s side.

"Why do I have to explain to you what's happening, god," Jihoon growls. "I need to report to headquarters, you know!"

"Because I'm fucking driving?" Woojin says. It's loud and it reverberates in the empty space of the car. It makes Jihoon feel guilty of the thorns in his voice, and when he thinks about it, he really does feel bad, and he knows that he shouldn't have said it so he does what he never thought that he'd say to Park Woojin ever in his life:

"I'm sorry," Jihoon admits. He switches on the walkie-talkie at the same time, changing the channels so that it's one that leads to headquarters. "We have just encountered a grandma who needs help at the Han River. We will be investigating."

"Noted, Officer Park. Please take care."

Woojin nods without taking an eye off the road, and he turns to the leftmost lane so that they can stop the car by the Han River. They get out of the car immediately, and Jihoon grins at him, "Let's get down to business."

 

 

"Auntie," Woojin's the first to approach the grandma who's crouching down on the floor. "Are you alright?"

Jihoon's standing several meters away, as he gets prepared to bolt in whichever direction the grandma points at. She points right ahead of her, where Jihoon can vaguely register a shadowy figure who must be running away from where they currently are.

"Oh, goodness! Young men, please help me chase after the man! He stole my dog!"

Jihoon's about to bolt in that direction, until his mind actually comprehends the words that have escaped the grandma's mouth. _Stole my dog? What._

He can't help but wonder if Grandma is actually sane or she's spouting rubbish, but Woojin doesn't let any of those thoughts appear on his face, as he rubs a soothing hand down Grandma's back. "Don't worry, auntie! We will get—"

"Kira!"

"—Kira back, for sure! Just leave it to us."

"Thank you so much, young men!”

When Woojin stands up from where he had been crouching, he gives Jihoon a look. "What are you still standing here for? Aren't you going to give chase?"

Jihoon scoffs. "I just didn't want you to think that I was going to cheat and let myself go ahead!”

"Whatever you say," Woojin rolls his eyes as the two of them get ready to chase after Mr. Dog Thief.

_1, 2, 3._

And they run.

 

 

 

"I can't fucking believe that he was really a dog thief," Jihoon exclaims from underneath his breath when they are back at the head office, and the air-con is on full blast. It's slowly transitioning to summer, which made the chase even more intolerable than it should have been.

"What can I say, Seoul's pretty crazy these days," Woojin sighs, wiping at the beads of sweat that are growing at the side of his face. Jihoon finds himself hitching a breath at the sight: at how Woojin’s tanned skin glistened and sparkled. _Wait, what? Park Jihoon? Did you just think that? No. No. No!_

"You alright?" Woojin waves a single hand in front of Jihoon when Jihoon doesn't shoot an instant, hasty retort. "Please don't tell me the summer heat got to you already. It's not even the high of summer yet!"

It's the wave of Woojin's hand that draws Jihoon back to reality, and snaps him awake. Fuck. He really needs a cold shower, a cold face wash— _anything_ to get his mind off the thoughts that he just had. "I'm fine, god! Please start worrying about yourself instead. I can't believe that the dog actually bit you!"

Woojin scowls at the memory of that. It makes Jihoon want to laugh, at how the tiny husky that barked at Woojin when he tried to pick it up, and bit him as a final defense. Jihoon likes Kira, and he knows that Kira likes him too, from the way she had leaned into his touch when he was giving her headpats.

They are interrupted by Minhyun, who smacks a binder across both their heads. "I was about to praise you two for a job well done, but apparently, you can't last a second without fighting with each other.”

Jihoon points accusingly at Woojin, "He started it!"

Woojin huffs, indignant. “Me? You had to mention that Kira bit me! That was _not_ necessary!”

Minhyun just sighs at how the both of them start throwing insults at each other. It’s just right when he was starting to think that they could be the best partners in the Gangnam District Office, who worked well together in helping to maintain the peace in the area.

 _Desperate times call for desperate measures,_ Minhyun thinks. And he thinks that he knows what he has to do.

 

* * *

 

They get sent to the dojo by Minhyun for _friendship building exercises_.

It sounds almost funny in Jihoon’s brain, as he thought that he would have bade goodbye to _friendship building exercises_ once he had escaped university orientations. Jihoon isn’t quite sure what Minhyun was thinking when he decided to send them to the dojo, to do some taekwondo when it sounds like they could pretty much, beat each other to death or something. Well, they aren’t stupid enough to do that, no matter how much they hated each other, but it doesn’t change the fact that Jihoon doesn’t quite understand Minhyun’s reasoning.

They get into the rhythm of taekwondo quickly though. It was one of the compulsory sports that they had to take up while they were in university, and while it’s been several months since Jihoon last found himself in a _dobok_ , the body still remembers everything and Jihoon slowly finds himself keeping up with Woojin’s pace and strength.

Jihoon almost forgets how tiring taekwondo actually is, and how Woojin actually excelled in _Practical_ back when they were fighting for the top spot, because it’s minutes later when he finds himself pinned down onto the ground by Woojin.

This is what Jihoon expects to happen: Woojin stands up immediately, and laughs at Jihoon for being weak.

This is not what Jihoon expects to happen, but actually happens: There’s a moment of silence that washes onto them. Their faces are so fucking close to each other that Jihoon is sure that with a single movement, they would hit each other. It’s utterly foreign how he can hear the way his heart is racing, beating so quickly against his chest.

He feels his senses being charged into overdrive, as he grows hypersensitive to whatever’s happening between them: the way the sweat collects at the side of Woojin’s face, the way his chest heaves and how Jihoon can feel it pressing against his own—and the way Woojin’s looking at him, as if he could see right through this thoughts and his desires.

Tension envelopes them like a thick haze and Jihoon finds himself focusing on the shape of Woojin’s lips, and he wonders how it’d feel like against his own.

The moment itself is strange, as his mind feels like it’s being overloaded with all the information that his senses are trying to relay to him. So he doesn’t quite register the feeling of Woojin leaning into him. When he closes his eyes to blink, he opens his eyes to Woojin’s lips on his.

What the fuck.

_Fuckfuckfuck._

He can’t quite come to the reality that Park Woojin’s kissing him, even as Woojin’s lips are pressed against his own already. It’s kind of funny, the way their lips are meshed together in an awkward dance, like a couple who’s just learning how to dance together for the first time. There’s a slight tinge of saltiness that he tastes against his lips, and he thinks that it’s probably from the sweat that’s dripping down the side of his face. But there’s also a certain sweetness to the kiss, that Jihoon recognises as _Woojin_.

He finds himself letting off a moan as he feels the way Woojin’s tongue swipes across his lips. As much as Jihoon had focused on his studies, in order to excel in the Korean National Police University, he isn’t stupid. He isn’t entirely unaware of how kisses go. He knows what Woojin wants, and a part of him wonders if he should let Woojin’s tongue enter his open mouth. He’s still contemplating, thinking, _thinking,_ but Woojin reaches out to cradle the back of Jihoon’s head, and he finds their kiss deepening and _god,_ he needs _more_.

And it’s how Jihoon finds himself opening his mouth, and Woojin’s tongue invades his mouth with a feverish fervour. Jihoon finds himself so fucking overwhelmed, from the way Woojin’s licking into every and any corner that he can find in Jihoon’s hot mouth, and Jihoon can’t do anything but let Woojin take control, and for him to fall pliant under Woojin’s administrations.

He’s a mess, a whole fucking mess, and he knows that he’s only making everything worst when he tangles his fingers into Woojin’s hair, so that he can pull Woojin in deeper as if they could be any closer.

It feels like he’s sinking into a feverish dream that he doesn’t want to wake up from, and it’s the feeling of Woojin’s knee pressing into a familiar heat that wakes Jihoon up, and grounds him back into reality.

_Wait._

_I’m kissing Park Woojin._

_More like, I’m making out with Park Woojin_.

He suddenly feels disgusted with himself, for letting himself be controlled by desire and lust, and it’s what that makes Jihoon push Woojin away from him with a rediscovered strength. He hadn’t come in second in _Practical_ for no good reason, and when he focuses on Woojin in front of him, he sees the swollen lips and mused hair—and he realises, that _he_ did it to Woojin.

Fear swallows him up from within, and it’s what that makes Jihoon bolt out of the room, out of the dojo, in this _dobok_ and he doesn’t look back.

 

* * *

 

If there’s anything that has changed between them, no one says a word even though the air that hangs around in the office is heavy, and it pricks Jihoon with guilt every time he tries to breathe. He tries his best, as much as possible, to avoid Woojin by volunteering to do the graveyard shifts that no one else wants to do.

Seongwoo and Guanlin are usually the ones who are on the night shift, but when Jihoon comes in one night instead of Guanlin, Seongwoo raises his eyebrow. But even with that, he doesn’t prod and Jihoon lets himself soak in the silence through the uneventful night.

He tries to take his mind of The Incident, but it’s hard to do so when he looks at Woojin’s table as they are spacing out while being on the night shift, and he can’t get the image of the swollen lips, mused hair and glazed eyes out of his mind. Seongwoo’s playing games while leaning against his chair, and so Jihoon doesn’t expect it when Seongwoo raises his voice, ‘Want to talk about it?”

Jihoon blinks. “I…”

Seongwoo puts down his phone on the table, locking the screen to give JIhoon his full attention. “I may not know you and Woojin well, but I know enough from Minhyun and Jaehwan to know that your relationship has been rocky ever since Minhyun sent you two on the _friendship building exercise._ Minhyun feels bad, you know.”

Jihoon swallows the lump in his throat. He knows that Minhyun has nothing but good intentions for the both of them, and it pains him to know that Minhyun’s blaming himself for what had happened to him and Woojin, even though he wasn’t directly involved in The Incident.

And Seongwoo’s looking at him with the most sincere gaze, and it tempts Jihoon to be honest, to be true to the flurry of emotions that are swirling within him that confuses him.

“I don’t know what I should do,” is what Jihoon settles on.

“Don’t we all?” Seongwoo breaks into a small smile. “It’s why we need to talk it out, so that we can do something about it.”

Seongwoo’s right, and Jihoon knows it. He wonders if he should be completely honest with Seongwoo, when the words that he wants to say feel like it isn’t meant for Seongwoo, but for the guy who he’s been trying to avoid this whole time.

“And I think you know what you have to do now, right?”

“Yeah,” Jihoon breathes out. “I do.”

“I need to talk to Woojin.”

 

 

 

 

Jihoon doesn’t get to talk to Woojin as he plans to.

The next day, when he reports to work in the morning, much to the surprise of Minhyun, Guanlin and Jaehwan, he finds out that Woojin has been hospitalised. He had broken his arm when he tripped down the stairs while doing his rounds together with Guanlin yesterday, and Jihoon wonders how fucking stupid Woojin actually is.

A voice in Jihoon’s head tells him that Woojin isn’t stupid, that he knows how to take care of himself even when Jihoon isn’t around—and there’s only one reason why he’d actually trip down the stairs, and that reason is _Park Jihoon_.

He finds himself walking to the florist that sits across the road from the hospital that Woojin’s being nursed at. He heads in and buys a bouquet of flowers that the florist recommended. He stares at the flowers, and a part of him wonders if he’s overstepping his lines, and doing something that he shouldn’t be doing—especially when _he_ was the one who hurt Woojin.

But he swallows the thoughts that threaten to grow and develop into demons, and he finds himself taking a huge breath as he steps into the hospital and heads for the room that his coworkers had kindly supplied.

When he enters the room, Woojin looks too fucking peaceful while asleep, even with an arm in a cast. Jihoon places the bouquet at the side of his table when he discovers that there aren’t any vases in the cabinet next to his bed. Maybe he should have gotten fruits. At least Woojin would be able to eat it. Fucking flowers.

He wonders if he should wake Woojin up, to signal his presence but it feels rude for him to do so, especially when Woojin’s sleeping. He stares at the white washed walls, and there’s something about the emptiness of the walls that continue to stab guilt into his heart, no matter how the scent from the flowers try to raise his spirits.

 

 

 

“Wake up, you stupid shit.”

_Eh?_

Jihoon feels a rough hand against his shoulder, shaking him and it’s only now that he realised that he had fallen asleep while waiting for Woojin to wake up. He tries to blink the sleep out of his eyes as best as he can, as his eyes focus on Woojin who’s staring at him.

“What are you doing here?” Woojin asks.

As students of the Korean National Police University, they had been taught how to read people, and how to respond to people. Jihoon thinks that he’d probably get a failing grade from how he reacted to Woojin during The Incident, but he remembers the knowledge from the class flowing into him, as he sees the slight hope and happiness that glitters in Woojin’s eyes when their eyes meet.

“I heard that you broke your arm,” Jihoon says, sitting upright in the chair and playing with his fingers. “I brought you flowers.”

“Thank you.”

An awkward silence washes upon them, as neither of them quite know how to bring up The Incident that weighs heavily at the back of their mind.

“Hey—”

“Um.”

It’s funny how they start to say the words that lie at the tip of their tongue at the same time, and it’s Woojin who first breaks out into a small laugher, and says, “You first.”

“Oh,” Jihoon blinks. “Alright.”

_Damn it, where do I start?_

“Well, um, I’m really sorry.”

Jihoon tries to focus on something else as he lowers his head. It feels almost too painful for him to meet Woojin’s gaze, not when he’s saying the words that have been lodged at the back of his throat ever since last night, ever since Seongwoo’s words had gave him the courage to say the things that he never quite thought that he’d be able to say.

“I’m sorry for running away from you that day. It wasn’t right for me to do so,” Jihoon continues. “I know that I’ve been an asshole to you since our days in college, and…”

I came to realise that… it was just a way for me to mask how I felt about you.”

I don’t know if you feel the same way as I do, but if there’s anything that The Incident made clear to me, was that I actually… really liked you. From the start. From day one.”

Woojin’s laughter is what that breaks Jihoon’s train of thoughts, and causes him to look up. There are small tears that are brimming at the sides of his eyes, and he says, “I’ve always really liked you too. Ever since we were in university together.”

“Wow,” Jihoon finds himself saying. “That’s really long.”

“Yeah,” Woojin laughs. “I can’t believe that I liked you for so long and that I worked so fucking hard to be at the top just so I could have an excuse to talk to you.”

_What?_

Woojin reaches out to pat Jihoon’s head as he sees the wide eyes. “Yeah, I never liked studying. But I liked you. But you never had eyes for anything else except being able to do well, so I thought, that the only way that I’d be able to get your attention was through grades. And I did. Although I’m not quite sure if it turned out as well as I hoped.”

“You’re dumb,” Jihoon finds himself saying.

It sounds so fucking ridiculous that someone who do something like that for Jihoon and it makes an unfamiliar flush find its way to dust Jihoon’s cheeks.

“Yeah, I am,” Woojin admits. Then, he’s looking straight into Jihoon’s eyes, “So. We just confirmed our feelings for each other. We together or something?”

Jihoon ponders for a moment. It’s strange to think of Woojin as anything else, when his mind had always labelled him as _RIVAL!!!!!!!!_ for the longest time. But _boyfriend_ also sounds nice when it rolls off his tongue, so he nods. “Why not?”

Woojin grins at him.

This time, when their lips meet, they pull away together, even if they don’t want to.

 

* * *

 

_**Epilogue** _

“Want to keep it a secret?” Jihoon suggests. As he imagines sneaky kisses, and linked pinkies under the meeting table, it sounds like it could be fun to try to keep their newly developed relationship as a secret.

“That sounds stupid,” Woojin deadpans, but he’s holding onto Jihoon’s hand. “You’d be found out in an instant.”

“If anything, that sounds like you. Not me!”

“Shall we take a bet then?” Woojin raises his voice. “Loser buys a week’s worth of lunch!”

And Jihoon has never been one to back down from a challenge. “Deal.”

 

 

 

Minhyun watches them from the entrance of the hospital room. But the moment he saw the two of them together, Woojin looking at Jihoon with a gaze too tender to be true, Minhyun had hidden himself behind the door slightly. He takes out his phone from his pocket, takes a snap of the two lovebirds.

> **[photo attached]** **  
> ** Mission Accomplished

 

 

 

It’s weeks later that Jihoon and Woojin get a name for their unit. It’s as if god’s working on their side that the name _Pink Sausages Unit_ gets approved by the board.

Jaehwan stares at the two of them who think that they are trying to be discreet with their honey-filled gazes. “What does Pink Sausages Unit even mean?’

Jihoon’s the first to perk up and respond, “Ask Woojin.”

“What, me!” Woojin splutters. Then, he’s looking at Jaehwan. “Ask Jihoon!’

The both of them just grin at him and Jaehwan wonders what he’s ever done in his life to deserve having to sit next to the two of them.

“I’m out.”)


End file.
